25 Underrated Pleasures of Life

Because it's kinda what I feel like doing during social gatherings:

I Just Wanna Run, by The Downtown Fiction


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End of the year holidays always stress me out. Not so much when I was a kid, but for the past many years I've half looked forward to, half dreaded family reunions. More on that next week.

In these times when it's easiest to be a pessimist, I try to find and enjoy the small pleasures, the scented roses by the side of the street that keep me from digging my pity hole too deep. Therefore:

25 Underrated Pleasures of Life:

1. Finishing something you really dreaded doing. It's a huge weight off your shoulders, as well as a sense of accomplishment all in one.
2. Lying awake in bed, listening to the rain and wind, morning or night.
3. Showering and drying off with a warm towel, then putting on a big T-shirt and getting into bed with freshly laundered sheets.
4. Lit candles in dim rooms.
5. Finally getting out the popcorn kernel that was stuck between your teeth.
6. Opening the window on a cold day and feeling the chill on your skin.
7. That moment when you see your waiter/waitress arriving with your food, and it looks the most delicious out of everyone else's.
8. Waking up early while also feeling well rested.
9. That little window of time when you're lying half awake and half asleep in the morning and you could easily just fall back asleep for a couple more hours if you wanted to and you realize you can.
10. The feeling of satisfaction when you're genuinely able to make someone laugh.
11. Falling on top of a fresh-out-of-the-dryer heap of clothes.
12. Hugs from people whose company you most enjoy.
13. Having the song on the radio finish at the exact moment as you pull into your driveway and turn off the car.
14. The noise a vacuum makes when it picks up something crumbly.
15. Taking heavy boots off after a long day.
16. That other little window of time between 2 and 3 AM when you're with your friends and your body finally gives up on going to sleep and you enter hyper mode and laugh at anything and everything.
17. A hot, scented bubble bath.
18. The smell of your favorite cup of tea or coffee.
19. That nice fuzzy moment when you're swimming for a long time and you tilt your head and all the water leaves your ear. 
20. Researching concerts/public speakers/anything you'd love to attend, and finding one you'd die to go to and it's in your area.
21. Walking from a cold environment into a warm room.
22. Someone playing with your hair. 
23. The way your heart vibrates when a firework explodes.
24. Writing with a new pen (not the cheap ones, but the ones that leave a really nice smooth line).
25. Seeing the sunrise out your window and realizing that you stayed up all night, but you can afford to sleep all morning that day.

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Merry Christmas Eve.